Licking the Razor's Edge (2015)

The CONSEQUENCES of our CONFLICT ADDICTION
It is important for us to realize that even the most minor of skirmishes have profound,
destructive impacts on our lives. There is no such thing as a “harmless squabble” or a
“minor battle”. Every time we choose enmity over Acceptance, our sense of inner Peace
is dismantled & disappears. And every time we choose retribution over Forgiveness, our
Joy runs and hides.
Even in the times when we are “in the right” and “on the side of justice”, our
aggressiveness ensures that everyone loses — that true justice cannot prevail.
*First and foremost, realize that CONFLICT CAUSES MORE CONFLICT …
And this is a very important point to understand. Even though it is reasonable &
understandable for us to lash out against our enemies, doing so DOES NOT WORK.
Indeed, there is no more efficient way to guarantee our continue suffering than to do so.
Going to war against our international enemies might be “morally justified”, and yet all it
does is ensure that those enemies will continue to threaten our safety. Just as terrorists
can only thrive when we choose to fear them, our “enemies” in our own communities can
only thrive when we choose to treat them as such. And just as killing one terrorist always
inspires at least three new insurgents to take their place, attacking local “enemies” only
serves to entrench their dislike for us as well; only serves to preserve the very source of
pain that we are trying to eliminate. War has not once ever made for true Peace … and
conflict has not once ever made for real Harmony. Peace-full ends never justify their
means – unless those means are just as Peace-full as those ends.
*Secondly, realize that CONFLICT also PRODUCES POVERTY …
And by “poverty” here I do not only mean economic poverty, though wars and lawsuits
and even our personal disagreements do indeed drain us of massive portions of our
financial resources … and by “poverty” I also do not mean physical poverty, though the
various ways we are aggressive towards others do indeed cause us illness and inflict us
with fatigue. No, the greatest harm from conflict comes from a poverty that is far more
insidious and far more destructive; a poverty that is more emotional than it is fiscal, and
more psychological than it is physical. I am referring to the poverty found in our hollow,
non-intimate, highly superficial relationships … I am referring to a poverty of the Soul.
Conflict has us lashing out at those who “deserve punishment” and then shielding
ourselves from their return attacks; and even though we have been taught that this choice
is a way to “maintain self-respect”, the practical result of such behavior is a spiritual
brittleness that damages all our relationships.
You see, the wall that we erect between ourselves and our enemies cannot be
spontaneously lowered for our friends. We protect ourselves from being harmed by
others, and thereby keep ourselves from receiving real intimacy from Loved Ones. We
attack those who are threatening our safety, and thereby simultaneously become deaf to
the deeper concerns of those for whom we wish to Care.
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